SPD and Couch- how are they related?

Well...first things first, right?

I have wanted a new couch for a long time...I mean A LONG TIME! Something about having had our couch for 12 years now! Yep...12 years! I bought this couch with my hiring bonus money when I got my first job after I graduated from WSU and UW pharmacy school. It has truly been through the ringer! But, after the main couch support broke into two...yep, I've wanted a new couch!

On Saturday, we had our semi-annual "George Girls Shopping Trip"...and boy was I ready for that! We all met at about 10:30am and shopped for a bit before we had lunch at PF Changs (yum!). We then went to Bellevue square to shop at a couple more key spots (gotta go to The Container Store!) before our hour foot massages scheduled at 5pm. I was having such a wonderful time chit chatting that I actually had a hard time just sitting there while someone was rubbing my feet! (I know...pretty sad, huh?) So, I decided to take out my Blackberry and do some shopping. You see, Laurie (my sister-in-law) has recently bought and sold a boat load of stuff on craigslist. I thought I'd check out what was available in the 'couch' arena. So, get this...Marla and Missy are sitting in their chairs with their eyes closed...really enjoying the serene moments of someone rubbing their feet...and here I am with my Blackberry...letting my fingers do the walking...looking for a couch! I swear, the asian gal rubbing my feet must have thought I was nuts! Oh well! I found several couches that would work for us and I sent them all e-mails (yep, from my blackberry) to see if they were still available. I have no idea when I would have time to check them out...or if Kelly would even "go" for me purchasing a new couch! But, hey...gotta at least enjoy the shopping for it, right? So, the couch that really caught my eye was this 3 piece sectional (complete with a chaise) for $700. I figured, hey maybe I could dicker a bit here! So, I asked if she would take $500 and she said that she had to have $575 minimum. So, cool...we've already decided on a price...now I just have to get Kelly to give me the a-OK!

After our wonderful shopping day, I come back home and casually mention it to Kelly. He quickly poo-poos my idea (by the way he responded to me) and I decide to just leave it alone. He just spent the whole day with the boys (by himself, I might add) and I'm sure he's exhausted. Plus...when is it ever a good time to spend an extra $575??? Plus...aren't I in the process of trying to QUIT my job? OK...let it rest, Kari. I was so proud of myself! I politely e-mailed the gal selling the couch and said it wasn't a good time for us to buy.

So, Sunday at dinner time Kelly said, "Are you going to buy that couch?" I was completely caught off guard. Hmmm...so we talked a bit more about it, showed him pictures etc., and by the end of the conversation, we were buying the couch...if she hadn't already sold it! So, I called the gal and sure enough it was still available! I had NO IDEA how we were going to get it home and as I was explaining this to her, she said, "Oh, we can bring it to you!"

"Really?"

"Can we bring it tonight?"

"Sure!" So by 9pm Sunday night, we had a new couch in our family room!

Isn't it beautiful!! This is the advertisement photo in Craigslist! It is microfiber material, so it cleans nicely with soap and water. The color is a bit lighter than I would have chosen myself, but hey...you can't be too picky for $575! We all just love it! You'll have to stop by to check it out! It's even comfy to sleep on! (gotta try it, huh?)

So, later that evening I get another e-mail from the gal who sold us the couch. She just noticed my information at the bottom of my e-mail. It says,

"Kari George
http://karigeorge.blogspot.com/
Check out my favorite website: www.sensoryplanet.com...become part of the SPD community to put this puzzle together!

One in 20 children has Sensory Processing Disorder (“SPD”) according to the latest research at The SPD Foundation. In real terms, that means 3.5 million children in the United States alone are affected; that's about one child in every classroom. Support research for Sensory Processing Disorder today at www.spdevent.com."

Come to find out, her 2 year old boy also has SPD! What a small world we live in, huh? It's so nice to know another mom in the same boat as you! SPD is not for the faint at heart...so us SPD affected moms have got to stick together!

I have this whole week off from work...not my idea but because of scheduling errors on the part of my boss!...another story, another time! I was notified on Friday that Carson's daycare classroom would not have an extra person in there on Monday. So, I contemplated whether I should keep him home (didn't really have any plans for Monday), so I opted to instead be the extra person in Carson's classroom. Plus, I really wanted to see with my own eyes what they have been describing to me for sometime. So, I called daycare on Monday morning to see if that would be OK. Of course, they said that would be great!

Boy, let me tell you...it was rough. They were so right...Carson spent more time out of the classroom than he actually did inside the classroom! Even I had a tough time getting him to do things. On one occasion, he ran out of the classroom and in through the side door of the same classroom! ARGH! I tried my hardest to do things that I thought would help him, but he just has a tough time. For one...everything just takes SOOOO LONG! Circle time seemed like a very long time...even to me! Then when you transition from circle to snack, you first have to wash your hands. Everyone has to line up and take turns washing your hands....then you eat snack. Same thing with going outside...first they had to apply sunscreen (which took 30 minutes!!!) before they could even line up to go outside. There is just so much opportunity and time for him to get himself into trouble...it's amazing! That's just how it is in a classroom with 20 kids.

I asked his teacher if this was typical behavior or if he was making things worse 'cause I was there. And she said this was actually a 'good day' for Carson! WOW...it really was eye opening! It was all I could do just to keep him there...I just wanted to take him home with me! We planned on just staying through lunch (which is another rough transition) and then go home to take a nap and that's what we did. OMG...I was so glad to get out of there! Those poor teachers!!! They really are putting up with a lot with Carson!

I knew this was an issue and we have been striving toward making it better...but it's always good to see it with your own eyes!

We are going to get a big refrigerator box and decorate it with 'relaxing looking' pictures inside...then put comfy pillows inside, etc. We'll put this somewhere at daycare so Carson can have a quiet and safe place to go when his body is feeling 'out of control'!

One more story! After we returned home from daycare, Carson was having a very difficult time listening. At one point in particular, right before nap, he completely LOST IT! I nicely took him to his room and shut his door. I came out to the family room to do some stuff until he got himself together, when all of a sudden, I heard the outside water faucet turn on! ARGH!! That meant that he climbed out his window...and what is he doing with the hose? I walked in the room and indeed he was outside of the window! I also noticed that he had pulled the hose all the way over to the window. Hmmm...did I just catch him from putting the hose inside his window??? Double ARGH!!! Carson obviously lost 'window privileges' with that stunt! We'll see how long the window stays secure!

Carson is going to be my helper today! Since we are trying to sell our rental house, I need to go down there today and paint the front porch and railings. Since it is not an exact art, I figured Carson would get a kick out of helping me with this project! So, I'll let you know how it goes when it gets all done! I am meeting our agent down at the house on Thursday to stage the house and it should be going on the market shortly thereafter! Yipee! One step at a time, right!!

Hope you have a good one! We will....